Comic book crossovers have been happening for decades. When characters live in a shared comic universe, it's no surprise to see Batman and Superman team up or Hulk and the Thing trading blows. Sometimes publishers are able to arrange match-ups between characters from different companies. That's when things get nuts.
Here's seven of our favorite crazy crossovers.
Justice League vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (2017)
Lord Zedd is one of the Power Rangers' biggest enemies. He's able to kidnap and replace Alpha 5 with a bomb in order to breach Zordon's defenses. During the fight that ensues, the teleporters are damaged.
The Black Ranger, Zack, finds himself stranded in Gotham City. He immediately runs into Batman and assumes he's one of Zedd's monsters. Naturally, they begin to fight. One Power Ranger is no problem for Batman, but when the other Rangers come to Zack’s aid, the Justice League is be called in.
Star Trek and the X-Men (1996)
The X-Men have been known to travel through space sometimes have hung out with the Shi'ar Empire. While pursuing Deathbird, the evil sister of the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire, they entered a spacial rift.
They enter the Star Trek universe and have to teleport onto the Enterprise when their ship is damaged. Some of the crew is okay with the mutants being on board, but Spock isn’t so trusting. When Wolverine tries going after him, Spock uses the Vulcan Death Grip on him. Thankfully Logan has a healing factor. The X-Men and Enterprise crew sort things out and team up against the bad guys before it’s time to go their separate ways.
The Punisher and Eminem (2009)
After an Eminem concert, the Punisher shows up and bullets start flying when the rapper's crew pull their own guns on him. Eminem runs into an old acquaintance, Baracuda, a killer for hire. The two head into a nearby abandoned house where Mathers acts like a hostage to lure the Punisher inside.
Eminem pistol-whips the Punisher as he enters and shoots him in his bullet-proof vest. It turns out Baracuda was actually hired to kill "some punk ass rapper" which leads to Eminem and Punisher being on the same side against the killer.
Superman and Muhammad Ali (1978)
An alien race notices Earth’s potential for destruction. In order to assure themselves Earthlings won’t someday be a threat, they issue a challenge for their champion to fight against Earth’s greatest. Since they brought an entire armada with them, there is no choice but to agree to this crazy deal. The aliens decide either Superman or boxing legend Muhammad Ali will be the suitable choice.
The two are pitted against each other to see who will fight the alien champion. They train and fight in an alien ship close to a red son. That means Superman won’t have his super-powers. The Man of Steel gets whooped. Ali then has to fight the alien’s champion. He wins, of course, because he is the greatest.
Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York (2016)
In the 80s, Kurt Russell played two iconic characters with amazing mullets--Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China and Snake Plissken in Escape from New York. Burton’s semi drives through a mysterious portal, and he ends in Plissken’s world.
When Snake hears someone is trying to steal his identity, he immediately tracks down Burton. Don’t worry, they end up teaming up in order to fix a magical spell that went wrong.
Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2015)
Batman discovers ninjas are stealing equipment from Wayne Enterprises. It turns out, Shredder and the Foot Clan are stuck in the DC Universe and are plotting to get back to their dimension. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are also trapped and are on Shredder’s trail. This leads to a clash between Batman and the Turtles since anyone would think giant walking turtles were weird.
As Shredder begins to team up with some of Batman’s foes like the Penguin, the Dark Knight and the Ninja Turtles also form a totally awesome team-up. You can expect lots of ninja fighting and pizza in this one.
Archie vs. Predator (2015)
This was a crossover we never expected to see, despite there being an Archie and Punisher crossover years ago. When Archie and the gang spend Spring Break at an island resort, they’re not the only ones visiting the tropical paradise. A spaceship arrives, and you can bet whoever’s on board isn’t there to party. After Betty and Veronica get into a fight, Betty ventures off on her own. She accidentally grabs a cursed knife, which attracts the attention of the Predator.
The Predator follows them to Riverdale, and it becomes an utterly bloody mess. Archie’s friends get impaled and have their spines ripped out. You start to wonder if anyone will be able to survive by the time the story ends.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the other weird comic match-ups out there. Let us know which what your favorite crossover is and if you'd like us to cover more crazy crossovers in the future.